OBJECTIVES: In hospitals, the pharmacy information system (PIS) is usually a sub-system of the hospital information system (HIS). The PIS supports the distribution and management of drugs, shows drug and medical device inventory, and facilitates preparing needed reports. In this study, pharmacy information systems implemented in general teaching hospitals affiliated to medical universities in Tehran (Iran) were evaluated using a multi-dimensional tool. METHODS: This was an evaluation study conducted in 2015. To collect data, a checklist was developed by reviewing the relevant literature; this checklist included both general and specific criteria to evaluate pharmacy information systems. The checklist was then validated by medical informatics experts and pharmacists. The sample of the study included five PIS in general-teaching hospitals affiliated to three medical universities in Tehran (Iran). Data were collected using the checklist and through observing the systems. The findings were presented as tables. RESULTS: Five PIS were evaluated in the five general-teaching hospitals that had the highest bed numbers. The findings showed that the evaluated pharmacy information systems lacked some important general and specific criteria. Among the general evaluation criteria, it was found that only two of the PIS studied were capable of restricting repeated attempts made for unauthorized access to the systems. With respect to the specific evaluation criteria, no attention was paid to the patient safety aspect. CONCLUSIONS: The PIS studied were mainly designed to support financial tasks; little attention was paid to clinical and patient safety features.
Checklist ; Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems ; Drug Information Services ; Hospital Information Systems ; Hospitals, Teaching* ; Humans ; Information Systems* ; Medical Informatics ; Patient Safety ; Pharmacists ; Pharmacy*

Carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii has increased rapidly worldwide. It is generally assumed that carbapenem prescription in a hospital has a significant impact on imipenem resistance in A. baumannii. However, there are few studies validating these assumptions with statistical data. We performed a surveillance study to investigate the relationship between carbapenem prescription trends and the imipenem resistance rate of A. baumannii in an ICU. Carbapenem prescription data in the WHO anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC)/defined daily dose (DDD) format for the period from 2006 to 2010 were obtained from the hospital electronic pharmacy records. In the same period, microbiologic data for the ICU were extracted from the laboratory information system. Imipenem resistance rates of A. baumannii increased from 4.3% in 2006 to 83.8% in 2010 (P <0.05; r2=0.85). Carbapenem prescription had increased from 19.71 DDD per 1,000 inpatient-days in 2006 to 36.99 DDD per 1,000 inpatient-days in 2010 (P <0.05; r2=0.95). Carbapenem prescription rate correlated with the imipenem resistance rate in A. baumannii (P <0.05; R=0.9). The results of our study demonstrated a correlation between carbapenem prescription trends and imipenem resistance in A. baumannii.
Acinetobacter ; Acinetobacter baumannii ; Clinical Laboratory Information Systems ; Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Imipenem ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Pharmacy ; Prescriptions

BACKGROUND: As information technology evolves rapidly computer-based surveillance systems for nosocomial infection have been developed. Well designed computerized system could provide an opportunity for improving, enlarging, and conducting hospital-wide surveillance more efficiently in the situation with limited resources. Recently, we launched a new computerized monitoring system in a hospital where digital medical information system has been operated without paper chart. METHODS: We developed a new surveillance program based on the total Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. Numerous critical medical information can be easily accessible through this system without further work. This includes major demographic data, essential information from the inpatient medical record, the laboratory information system, and the pharmacy information, Comprehensive Clinical Data Repository (CDR) system was also developed. CDR is potentially very useful to conduct a hospital-wide surveillance by integrating all the available information. RESULTS: This system consists of several programs in the EMR and the CDR environment. In the EMR system, inquiry for patients with fever, case ascertainment and registration of nosocomial infections, inquiry for patients with indwelling devices, microbiological reports, and data on antibiotic prescriptions were included. The CDR has integrated comprehensive inquiries for frequency of major pathogens in clinical isolates and their trends of antibiotic resistance, nosocomial infection rates based on the duration of the devices or hospitalization, and the history of antimicrobial usage based on defined daily dosage. Data obtained from the EMR and the CDR systems could be easily accessed by infectious diseases specialists and healthcare workers of infection control services at any place within the hospital. A new reporting system has been built up to facilitate identification of notifiable diseases among the list of diagnoses on the EMR. In addition, the "Alert" notice was designed to highlight isolation precautions for indicated cases. CONCLUSION: This new computerized surveillance program might be a valuable model to which other hospitals can refer to develop newer version of programs in the future.
Clinical Laboratory Information Systems ; Communicable Diseases ; Cross Infection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Electronic Health Records* ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Information Systems ; Inpatients ; Medical Records ; Pharmacy ; Prescriptions ; Specialization